Pink Dyed Red
by Midnight1234
Summary: Natsu is a college kid with a slight problem. And when I say slight problem, his problem being he can't talk to any other girl other than his best friend Lucy and little sister without turning red and stuttering and running away. But maybe his problem will change when Lucy introduces him to the new girl in town named Erza. Rated T for language.


**Hiya! This story has been requested by bl00dshy! Took me some time with some writer's block, a small vacation, and procrastination! But I am finally done though I do think the ending is a little cut off but I did not know anything that could come in after that, so I thought that was a good ending! Natsu is OOC in this story and I think Erza is a little OOC too but I don't think it's as much as Natsu's… Anyway I really hope you enjoy this since I don't wright romance a lot (like barely, maybe even rarely) so it was a little hard, but I think I managed to pull through! Please leave a review and favorite! It will be greatly appreciated! Farewell and Enjoy!**

**-Let there be midnight**

**ME (SADLY ENOUGH) DO NO OWN ANY FAIRY TAIL (SADLY ENOUGH)!**

* * *

**Pink Dyed Red**

The boring drone of the professor at the front of the room was enough to make anyone fall asleep within a minute, which some did so while others were on their way to sleep. Natsu was one of those who were already asleep with his head in his hands and some drool pooling onto his notes below, smearing the messy black ink making it barely legible. Beside him his best friend Loke sat with his eyes drooping and his head resting in his hand, sometimes slipping off his hand only to jerk back up as he tried his best to stay awake, but was failing miserably.

It was only when the bell rung that the entire class woke with a start and the professor's boring drone ended with the homework assignment, but Natsu still remained asleep even as people chattered loudly as they passed his chair, sometimes stealing glances at him and laughing under their hands.

Loke sighed as he shook his head at his sleeping friend while he started to slowly stuff his books into his bag and slung it over his shoulder. He stood up and pushed his chair in, standing there for a second or two before he took ahold of the back of Natsu's chair and pulled it out from under him, the pink haired male failing with a thump and a yelp of surprise.

"Glad you're finally up sleeping beauty." Loke yawned, scratching the top of his ginger hair. Natsu's gaze fell onto him, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he wiped the drool on his chin away.

"What was that for?" he asked, picking himself up. Loke shrugged in responds, shoving his friends backpack into his chest so he could hurry and pack up once he saw that they were nearly the last ones still in the classroom.

"I could've just left you here and left to eat lunch on my own, but I decided to be the nice guy and wake you up so Mister I'm-Boring over there doesn't get mad at you." Loke replied, starting to walk away from his friend as he contained another yawn just behind his hand. He heard Natsu grunt in annoyance behind him and shuffle his things into his bag as fast as he could.

"Yo, pervert! Wait up!" Natsu called once he was able to zip his bag up and sling it over his shoulder, running after his friend who had stopped to turn around and glare at him.

"I'm not a pervert, I'm just really interested in women." he retorted as they begun to walk beside each other, Loke stuffing his hands into his pockets. Natsu waved his hand at him nonchalantly, a smirk playing on his lips.  
"Sure ya' are. Why don't I ask Cecile Wafer about that and see what she thinks." Natsu suggested teasingly. Loke jabbed his friend in the ribs with his elbow, throwing him a glare.

"Says the guy who can really only talk to two girls." he snapped back, Natsu's humor dying as he met the glare his friend gave him and matched it with his own.

"Lucy and my sister don't count; we've been in the same foster program as children so she's like a sister to me and Wendy is my adopted sister, plus she's younger, so ha." Natsu said a matter-of-factly, drawing a snort from the ginger beside him.

"Sure, whatever you say Natsu." Loke replied with an eye roll. Natsu was about to retort something that would involve cussing until he was suddenly hit on the back of the head, stumbling forward in surprise a little. From the corner of his eyes he could see that Loke had been to, whirling around to see the first person who he expected to do that, his second best friend Gray Fullbuster. Standing beside him was Lucy who had just finished texting something on her phone and proceed to put it back in her bag.

"What's up pervert and anime nerd?" Gray greeted in a monotone, sticking his hands into his pockets. Both Natsu and Loke glared at Gray as they cradled their heads, wanting nothing more than to hit him back but refrained from doing so while Lucy stood present. They didn't want another lecture from the motherly figure for fighting.

"Who're you calling anime nerd, dumb jock?!" Natsu growled, baring his teeth at the raven haired male who stared at him in boredom.

"The kid who stayed up in his room all winter break watching Bleach." he replied with a shrug. Natsu couldn't find any other insult to throw at him seeing as he had gotten him there. He had stayed up in his room all winter break watching all Bleach episodes with Lucy forcing him to get away and go outside and… he shivered at the word—_socialize_.

So with no present insult to give, Natsu just crossed his arms over his chest and proceeded to glare at Gray who took no notice of this. Lucy finally took the silence as her cue to step in, a slight grin on her face and a strange glint in her brown eyes.

"We're meeting a friend of mine at Fairy Affair Café." she announced, drawing the three boy's attention to her. "And if you aren't polite, then…" she suddenly turned dark with her eyes glinting maliciously to her friends. "_punishments will be given._" she growled only to turn back to normal with a sweet smile. "Okay?" All three shivered in slight fear as she walked passed them, knowing they had no choice but in to follow her.

"So, who's your friend?" Loke asked, trying to attempt conversation with the tense atmosphere.

"Her name's Erza and she just moved here recently. She's in my French class and she's a really nice girl." she replied as the four friends exited the college's campus and started walking down the semi crowded streets to their destination. Beside him, Natsu heard Loke snicker silently to himself, arms stretching above his head.

"Don't expect Natsu to do any talking then. Ya' know how he is." Loke said earning a punch in the arm curtsy of Natsu. "Oy! Don't get pissy with me! You know it's the truth!" Loke defended himself, rubbing the offended arm.

"You two done acting like children back there?" Gray asked in boredom as he looked behind his shoulder just slightly enough so he could see the bickering duo. "Oh look, we're here." he added in fake enthusiasm. Just before they entered the small café, Lucy turned to Natsu and Loke with a stern look on her face and her hands set on her hips.

"Now listen," she started, making the two draw their attention to her. "you two fight like cats and dogs over the smallest of things, even who orders first—yadda, yadda, yadda. We're not doing that today, understand?" she asked waiting for each to nod, which they did. She then turned to Natsu. "I know you have a problem talking to most girls' cause you find them a little intimidating and all, but at least try to talk to Erza?" Lucy pleaded, her stern look turning into a begging one. "I really want Erza to become a part of our little group, and that can't happen if you don't at least make an attempt to talk to her! I don't care if it's just one time; you just have to talk to her, okay? And if you manage to do so in good standards, I'll buy you anything under fifty dollars." Natsu instantly perked up at that, a million things that he wanted running through his mind that he knew was under fifty dollars, and coming from Lucy the cheapest person he knew, it was like eight Christmases all in one!

"Really?" he asked in excitement, Lucy nodding.

"Yes, really." she confirmed, making Natsu even more excited than before.

"Hey, what about me?" Loke whined as he waved his hands wildly beside Natsu, though no one paid him attention as they walked on into the café.

Instantly Natsu could smell an assortment of things from tea to coffee and cake to chocolate along many other things, and as he looked around the small place he could see only two other groups of people occupying tables and talking amongst their friend.

"Hello!" a familiar voice piped up from the front counter, drawing Natsu's attention away from the rest of the people there. The waitress, Mirajane, smiled and waved sweetly at them. Even though Natsu never talked to her but knew her well enough to know that she was a junior in their collage with a sister named Lisanna in their year and a brother named Elfman in the year ahead of them.

"Ah, Mira-chan!" Lucy said happily when she waved back to her friend, walking up to the counter to where the white waitress was. "How are you?" she asked as Mira leaned against the counter, blowing a strand of white hair away from her face.

"A little tired, but today has been a slow day so it's good." she replied sweetly. "What about you? Did all of your classes go good?" she asked curiously, giving the four each a look.

"My classes today were good." Lucy said. "In French I've invited someone to come eat lunch with us." she then scanned the little café, looking for who she was talking about before she looked back at Mira. "But it seems like she's not here yet." she added.

"Oh, I can't wait to meet your new friend!" the white haired waitress said cheerily as she stood up straight. "What about you three?" she then asked the boys.

"Good, nothing exciting." Gray told her with a yawn, covering his mouth as he did so.

"Boring, Professor Long put half the class to sleep again." Loke said with a slight wave of his hand. "And Natsu drooled all over his notes too." he added knowing it would make the other angry, which it did as Natsu gave Loke a sharp glare and proceeded to jab him in the ribs, making the other double over with the force of it. "Ow! What gives?" Loke growled, Lucy stepping in-between the two so another fight wouldn't take place.

"Anyway, can I have an ice tea, Natsu a strawberry shake?" Lucy asked, changing the conversation anew as Mira started to put the order down in the cash register.

"Coke," Gray said, turning around to find a seat, Natsu hurrying to follow the other. He didn't hear Loke's order as he was already sitting at a table with Gray across from him, Lucy and Loke slipping in next to the raven haired male who stared out of the window with his chin resting in his hands.

"Oh, look!" Lucy suddenly perked up after a few seconds of silence. "Here she is!" Natsu turned around in his seat just as the bell above the door ringed with the new arrival.

A girl an inch or so shorter than Natsu stood there looking around the café. She had waist length scarlet hair and eyes that were a lighter shade of brown than Lucy's. She was wearing blue jeans with one of the knees being ripped from use and a simple white tank top with a pink jacket. In Natsu's opinion, she looked pretty even with that simple outfit and the thought of that made his cheeks turn a slight pink in embaressment at his own thoughts.

In her seat Lucy raised slightly, waving her hand wildly to catch the other's attention a smile on her face.

"Erza! Over here!" she called out, catching the others attention. Erza smiled and started to make her way to the small group, Natsu instantly turning back around to stare out of the window, willing the small blush to go down. It didn't help when the only chair available was next to Natsu, making the blush darken.

"Hello, Lucy." Erza greeted politely with a small nod, the other girl smiling in turn.

"Hey! Erza, these are my friends Gray, Loke, and Natsu!" she pointed to each one in turn, Erza and the ones mentioned giving a small greeting, but when Natsu tried to say his, it turned into a mouse-like squeak making Loke burst out laughing and Gray chuckling as his face turned the shade of Erza's hair. Flustered beyond belief, he quickly hid under his bangs and turned to look out of the window instead at Erza's astonished face from the squeak. "Natsu has a little trouble speaking to girls… he finds them quiet intimidating…" Lucy explained sheepishly. "Me and his younger sister are the only exceptions though since I've known him when we were kids, and well, it's his younger sister." Erza nodded just as Lucy hit Loke on the back of the head for laughing, the ginger instantly shutting up.

"Oh, okay then." Erza said in an understanding tone, the girl then deciding to change the subject. "How long have you all been here?" she asked, then added when she noticed her question was a little vague. "Not the café, Fiore, I mean."

"I've lived here my whole life with this perverted idiot." Gray commented with a slight sigh, Loke firing up at the name he was given.

"How many times must I tell all of you that _I'm not a pervert_?!" he asked in disbelief, head falling down on the table. Gray chuckled a little in amusement but otherwise said nothing else.

"I originally lived in Hargeon until my father died and I was sent into a foster care. Natsu didn't come in until later though. We were soon both adopted into a family when we were thirteen I think, but they were different families that just so happened to both live here and be friends with each other. It was such a coincidence!" Lucy said, Erza's eyes widening a little.

"That's good! But I didn't mean to—" she was quickly cut off by Lucy.

"Oh, no! I don't mind, and I know Natsu doesn't either. So it's fine, and we're out now, so no harm done." she assured Erza who became a little relaxed at this.

"If that's the cause, then you don't mind me asking why Natsu was also sent into foster care?" she looked at the pinkette in question who had managed to make his blush go down and was now staring at the table. He became flustered when he noticed that he was supposed to talk now, though his hid it and tried his best to only focus on the table before him.

"O-Oh… I-um… M-my dad was-was sent o-off to fight fo-for the war and all…" he took a slightly nervous break, scooting closer to the window when he felt his face heat up a little. "W-while that happened I-I w-was sent to li-live with my g-grandfather only to h-hear that d-dad had died in c-combat, G-Gramps dying shortly aft-after…" Natsu stuttered, his voice far too quiet making the others strain their ears so they could understand what he was saying. His face turned even redder as he felt his heart beat wildly in his chest like it did when he forced to speak to girls.

Thankfully, Mira had come over with their drinks right before Erza could say anything, saving him from his humiliation.

"One ice tea, strawberry shake, coke, and vanilla milkshake!" she said laying the drinks down in front of their respective owner before she turned to look at Erza with a kind smile. "Hello, I'm Mirajane! Would you like to order something?" she asked, grabbing her notepad and pen from her waist apron.

"My name's Erza." she greeted in the same kind manner. "And do you have strawberry cheesecake by any chance?" Erza asked hopefully.

"You're just in luck! We just finished making a fresh one a minute ago." Mira replied, writing that down on her notepad.

"Then I'll take a slice of that and ice water, thank you." Once Mira had written down her order, she walked off leaving the five of them alone.

"So, where are you from Erzie~?" Loke asked innocently but the other three at the table knew the glint in his eye and the tone in his voice very well to be the one where he seduced girls, and Erza seemed to catch on quick especially when he used 'ie' at the end of her name.

"You better keep to yourself or I'll shove your 'ie' somewhere unpleasant." she growled as her eyes glinted darkly making everyone shiver in fear.

"O-Okay…" Loke whimpered as he slid down in his chair, face very pale. "I-I'll keep that in mind…"

"Good!" Erza said, suddenly in a very cheery tone. The three males at the table sweetdropped at this but didn't voice their thoughts aloud. "And I'm from a few towns over, Darcle." Erza said, answering Loke's question.

"Hey, I think we've been there…" Lucy looked towards Natsu with furrowed eyes. "Have we Natsu?" she asked him, hoping he would know. Natsu went scarlet at this as Erza and everyone else turned to look at him.

"U-Ummm…" he squeaked, trying his best to utter his words out. "Y-yeah, we-we have… w-when w-we were t-twelve…" He quickly looked out of the window, wanting nothing more than for Erza to stop staring at him, his wish not coming true.

"Really? That's so cool! We've lived in the same town basically!" Erza said, making Natsu turn even redder at this.

"I-I guess w-we have…" he muttered, thankfully saved when Mira came and gave Erza what she had ordered.

"Hm? Why is Natsu all red? Is he developing a fever?" Mira asked curiously as she tried to get a better glance at Natsu's face other than seeing his reflection within the window. Loke laughed at this, shaking his head softly, an ear splitting grin spreading on his face.

"Nope," he laughed, earning a heated glare from the mentioned pinkette, his scarlet face going down. Mira smiled, happy that he wasn't sick.

"Alright, I'll go get the receipt so you guys can pay and leave whenever you want." she told them, turning around to do exactly what she said. Gray had his mouth open, ready to talk when Natsu's cellphone started to ring in his pocket, making him go red in embaressment again. Quickly so he could get all eyes off him, he answered the phone.

"H-hello?" he asked into the device, eyes looking nervously at his friends.

"_Oy, Natsu." _came a rough voice on the other side, one Natsu knew instantly.

"Laxus?" he asked curiously, his voice quiet as he turned away. "What is it?"

"_Dad's freaking out that you're not here." _the man said in a bored tone. Natsu chuckled nervously.

"O-Oh… yeah… I forgot to text him… he he he…" Natsu trailed off awkwardly, happy when Lucy started a little conversation to get them to stop staring at him.

"_Damn it Natsu!" _He could hear Laxus shaking his head as he said this, followed by a heavy sigh. _"Just come back home so the old man doesn't freak out too much." _Laxus said.

"Why, can't you just tell him that I'm at a café or something?" Natsu wondered, though he probably knew the answer well. If you didn't tell the old man where you were going ahead of time, then you better go home for punishment.

"_You and I both know that is not an option. Just come on home Natsu." _Laxus sighed. Natsu frowned and uttered a farewell to his older brother, hanging up and stuffing the phone back in his pocket. He had forgotten that Erza was sitting there next to him so he wasn't a stuttering mess when he started to speak.

"I have to go home or my dad will freak." Natsu said, turning to his side to see that Erza was there, his face instantly heating up.

"Aw! I wish you could've stayed longer!" Lucy pouted as Natsu stood up, his chair screeching slightly on the wooden café floors.

"S-sorry L-Luce… maybe n-next time…" he stuttered, trying to hide his red face with his hair but it didn't succeed in the way he wanted it to. Lucy frowned but otherwise waved her hand at him and placed her chin in the palm of her hand, gazing at him with slightly disappointed brown eyes.

"Fine, just go ahead. Don't wanna make your dad mad or anything. See ya' Natsu." she said, the others giving him similar goodbyes. Natsu thought he was scot free as he was already holding the handle to the open door, ready to bolt out of there when he felt his face go even redder.

"Bye Natsu! Hope we can hang out soon!" Erza called from where she was at the table, twisted around in her seat as she waved cheerily at him. Natsu kinda just froze there, not knowing what to do or say before he mumbled a goodbye that only he could hear and rushed out as fast as he could to go back home.

* * *

Natsu pried open his eyes. He was sprawled across his bed in just a random T-shirt and boxers with sheets strewn across his midsection while some were pooling around on the floor. His room was pitch black just like the sky seen from his window with a small milky crescent moon hanging in its midst. A phone on his bedside being what had awaken him, vibrating madly as the caller ID flashed on and off. The alarm clock next to it blared in big red letters 1:30 A.M.

Natsu's hand slapped onto the night stand, trying to sleepily grab his phone as it kept on vibrating, managing in the fifth slap, pressing answer and putting it up to his ear.

"Hello?" his voice was groggy with sleep as he blinked to try to become more awake.

"_Hey, anime freak."_ came a voice Natsu really didn't want to hear at this time of night. He rolled over so he was now facing his wall and glaring at it as if it was the one to wake him up.

"Do you _know what the freaking time is?!_" Natsu growled angrily, wanting nothing more than to punch his so-called friend in the face.

"_Um… one thirty in the morning?" _Gray said a small chuckle of amusement in his voice.

"This is no laughing matter, sleep is being risked here Gray." Natsu snarled, his eyes narrowing a fraction though he knew the other could not see.

"_Calm you cracker down. Geez, someone is not a morning person." _That was it, Natsu was going to punch the freaking jock next time he saw him and he was going to punch him _hard._

"I don't think anyone is going to be a morning person when they are waken up at _one thirty in the fucking morning!_" his voice had changed to a menacing hiss growing far more irritated the longer he talked to Gray.

"_Okay, okay! Sorry, I didn't think you'd bitch about it much, but apparently you are." _the last part was muttered under Gray's breath and Natsu had to bite back a retort waiting at the tip of his tongue for he wanted this conversation to end soon so he could take back his precious sleep. _"Anyway, I'm calling because one: Loke is drunk and I don't know how, he also won't go to sleep for the life of me, and two: You hung around Loke while he was drunk more than I have so you know how to control him, so come and get your ass down here and help me." _Gray said, his voice suddenly drained from amusement. Natsu was silent for a few moments, trying to keep himself from yelling at the top of his longs to the raven who was on the other end of the phone, but this proved to be a challenge for the pinkette because he wasn't good with holding down tempers and it being _one thirty in the freaking morning_ didn't help him either.

"If I come over and help you, will you never, _ever_, again call me before eleven A.M and after ten A.M?" he asked, as he propped himself up on his elbows, his free hand wiping the sleep from his eyes.

"_Natsu, if you do this for me I won't even call you ever again." _

"It's a done deal."

* * *

He had managed put an orange hoodie over his shirt and put on a random pair of tan shorts, slipping on some random sandals he was pretty sure was his brother Sting's but didn't care for it at the moment because now he was walking down the sidewalk nearing the place he knew Gray and Loke both lived, hands stuffed in his pockets as he tried to stay awake and not walk into the middle of the road since he was pretty sure he was walking like a drunk, but he was just too tired to care.

When he finally reached the apartment building the two lived in he walked pass the front desk and took the elevator to the fourteenth floor, glaring at a business man who was talking on the phone.

'_Why are people even active in the morning? It isn't normal. I blame the government.'_ Natsu thought to himself when the elevator dinged and he reached his floor, giving the business man one last glare before he exited.

When he reached the door he knew as to be his two idiotic friends, he didn't bother with knocking and just walked right on in knowing that they were horrible with keeping their door locked.

"_But Graaaaayyyy! I am a fucking pretty pink princess!_" was the first thing Natsu heard when he was about to take a step in the apartment, his hand still on the door knob. He was staring right at Loke who was on top of the table on all fours wearing a pink frilly dress he for some reason owned and a tiara sitting lopsided on his head. Make-up had been put messily on his face, his lips and the skin around it all the way down to his chin smudged with blue lipstick while there was a huge circle of hot pink blush on both of his cheeks. Eye liner had been put on poorly and wasn't even surrounding his eyes, and his deep red eye shadow had been applied at the way to his forehead. Gray was standing in front of the cross dressing ginger with a deep look of irritation on his face, arms crossed across his chest as he glared tiredly at his roommate.

Neither noticed Natsu standing at the door until a moment later where Loke just so happened to notice him and grin as big as he could, catching Gray's attention. "_Natsuuuuu! Wanna plaaay dress up?" _he asked, stumbling off the table and tripping over his dress. Natsu blinked blankly at them, stepping outside of the apartment and closing the door before he headed back towards the elevator.

"I wonder if the convenience store is open at this time of night." Natsu wondered to himself as he stuffed his hands into his pockets absentmindedly. He didn't even look back when he heard the apartment door slam open and Gray's irritating screams came out.

"You bastard! You promised you'll help me! So get you fucking gay ass over here and help me get that ginger bastard to sleep!" Gray screamed. Natsu stopped and looked over his shoulder calmly at Gray.

"People are going to complain about you if you keep on screaming." he commented casually. Gray growled threateningly as he marched over to Natsu and gripped his forearm, dragging him back into his apartment and slamming his door, locking it with a key and putting it out of reach of the pinkette who glared quietly at him.

"Now, _go fix him._" he demanded in a low voice that promised pain. Natsu sighed heavily before he looked back at Loke who was now flirting heavily with a grandfather clock in the living room beside the kitchen.

"Oy, Loke, go to sleep and Lucy will love you forever." he said. Loke perked up at that, a great big smile on his face.

"Okay!" he said brightly before falling face first halfway on the couch, snores instantly following suit. Gray stared dumbfounded at this as he tried to connect everything that had just happened before him.

"I-I just had to say that?" he choked out in a whimper. Natsu looked at him with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, he'll do anything for Lucy, drunk or not. I thought you knew that?" Gray shook his head and walked numbly over to the kitchen table, dumping himself in the chair as he stared brokenly at the table in front of him.

"I haven't gone asleep yet because of him and all I could've said was that…" the raven kept on muttering in disbelief under his breath as Natsu walked over and sat across from him, shrugging.

"No use in moping about it now. He's asleep, isn't he?" Natsu pointed out. Gray shook his head, clearing his thoughts from his mind as he rested his chin in the palm of his hand.

"Guess you're right." he mumbled, voice barely audible. They sat there for quite some time in silence; Natsu just about to drift asleep with his head leaning in the palms of his hands before Gray spoke up, jerking him back awake. "So, what do you think of Erza?" he asked, surprising Natsu. The pinkette sighed and leaned backwards in his chair, shrugging a bit.

"I dunno, a bit scary you could say." he replied as a shiver went up and down his spine. Gray chuckled lightly at that, a small smirk dancing on his lips.

"You think all girls are scary, so that doesn't count." he told him matter-of-factly. Natsu glared at him as he ran a hand through his messy pink locks.

"Well, what do you want me to say? I only met her once and my opinion on girls are always going to be in the negative since they're intimidating." Natsu told the other as he closed his eyes and leaned backwards in the chair, head dipping back with his Adams apple facing the ceiling.

"Your opinion on girls are going to have to change one day. I mean, don't you want to get a wife and get married? How're you going to get children, huh? Or are you going to live your life as a lonely miserable old fart? Tell me Natsu, how will this work out?" Gray asked in amusement. Natsu gave him no reply and the older raven haired male seemed to see that he wasn't going to answer him anytime soon. "I know!" Gray suddenly said, making Natsu jerk a bit forward in surprise, sitting upright in the chair while Loke squeaked a little in his sleep from the slightly loud outburst. "I'll make a bet with you, alright? This bet is to help you out with the fear of girls and everything, so hear me out. Ask Erza out by this time next week, if you don't well I'll tell Sting what you did to his car last week and you owe me a hundred bucks." Gray said with a smirk.

"You wouldn't! Sting'll kill me when he figures out and I don't even own fifty dollars much less a hundred!" he shouted in disbelief, eyes wide. Gray's smirk got even bigger.

"But if you do I'll give you a hundred dollars _and _I'll take you out to your favorite restaurant and pay the bill." Gray said, perking Natsu's interest little by little. Natsu sat there, chewing his bottom lip as he thought before his shoulders slumped and a look of defeat crossed his features.

"Fine, I'll do it, but only for the money and free food." Natsu said, more to himself than to Gray. A look of great triumph crossed Gray's features as he leaned forward.

"Great! Now with this bet, there are conditions. You are not allowed to tell anyone of it; it stays between us and us only. The minimum amount of time dating Erza is one months. You must act like a normal couple and that includes all the above: kiss, make-out, go on dates, cuddle, talk normally, and become broke because girlfriends take a lot out of you. Once that time period is over you can break up or whatever, I don't really care, but by then you must have your fear of girls gone and a thing of the past. Understand?" Gray asked. Natsu slid down in his seat with a pout clear on his features.

"Yes, Gray."

"Awesome, the time limit of asking Erza out before this time next week, starts: now."

* * *

Natsu walked awkwardly to where he saw Erza sitting alone on a bench on the campus's grounds. A great oak was next to her, shadowing the red head from the hot sun rays as she read her book in peace. Natsu didn't want to disturb her at all because one: his nerves were very high and two: he felt like he might die if he even speaks one word to the girl.

It has been a couple of days since the stupid bet he made with Gray and each day he was nearing his deadline of the bet which made him want to win the stupid bet even more just to show Gray he can talk normally to the female population of the world and so he can get his cash and food that he so desperately wanted, but each step the pinkette made towards the girl was getting impossible. His heart kept beating wildly in his chest, he was flushed and sweaty by how nervous he was and to top it all off, his legs felt like jelly that was about to melt and leave him stranded on the cold brick walkway he stood on.

He was about to turn and leave knowing that if he stayed any longer he would most probably be stuck there until help arrived… if it ever did, but before he could, Erza had looked up from her book at that exact moment. Thinking that she thought he was staring at her, he quickly redirected his gaze to look somewhere else which worked out in his favor it seemed liked.

"Natsu!" he heard Erza call, slowly turning his head to look back at the grinning red head. She had placed her bookmark in her book and set it down on her lap, now waving at the pinkette and motioning him to come and sit next to her by setting her bag which was on the bench on the other side of her and on the ground.

Gulping nervously, Natsu started to walk forwards mechanically, wiping his sweaty palms on the side of his jeans nonchalantly as he tried to offer his best smile despite the reddening of his cheeks.

"H-hi, E-E-Erza…" he stuttered high-pitched as he finally managed to reach her, sitting at the other end of the bench so he was a comfortable distance away from her. Erza blinked, a little confused by this, but didn't question it as she scooted closer to the pinkette who stiffened and turned redder, though she noticed none of this.

"Is something wrong?" she asked with a slight tilt of her head, trying to catch at least a small glimpse of the pinkette's burning face.

"N-no! N-nothing at-at all!" he stammered nervously, wringing his hands in his lap. Slowly and torturously, he turned his head to Erza who looked at him blankly with a little look of concern in her eyes, smiling as best as he could and trying to will down his blush though it only seemed to make him redden even more if possible. "U-uh… I-I was w-wondering i-i-if y-you w-w-would…" he stopped in midsentence, finding his throat suddenly dried as he redirected his gaze somewhere while he still faced the girl.

"Would what?" Erza asked innocently, her eyebrows drawn together curiously. Natsu jumped a little in surprise, scratching the back of his neck in a futile attempt to calm his nerves. Taking a deep breath, Natsu willed his whole being into the next set of words he was going to say.

"W-will y-you go o-out w-w-with me?!" he squeaked quiet loudly, causing some passerby's to glance curiously in his direction much to his horror. Erza blinked a little before a wide smile crossed her face and she nodded.

"Sure, I'll love to go out with you Natsu." Erza replied, making his heart skip a beat if that was even possible.

"G-great! M-Meet me at H-Heaven's G-G-Gateway at s-s-seven tonight!" he quickly squeaked, standing up in a rush and running away before Erza could even reply to him. He ran all the way to where Gray was hiding behind the corner of one of the buildings, watching the scene play out before him. Natsu almost bumped into the raven haired male who moved out of the way in time, kneeling over once he was hidden from view; hand over his heart as he tried to stop his beating heart. Gray stood above him, a triumphant smile on his face with his hands on his hips as he watched the pinkette try and catch his breath.

"Good job Natsu, you managed to accomplish the first part of the bet, now let's see if you could finish the second half." Gray said, turning around and walking away. Natsu stood up; his nerves finally back to normal along with the color of his face and the beating of his heart. He glared dangerously in the direction Gray was walking in, glaring daggers into the others back.

"You shitty bastard."

* * *

"Natsu!" the shout surprised him a little as he turned around to see Lucy running at him at full speed, a huge smile on her face and her brown eyes glittering in uncontained excitement.

"Lucy?" he barely even muttered under his breath as the girl reached him and started to ramble on excitedly.

"Erza just told me that you asked her out on a date to Heaven's Gate! Though it's not really fancy but good enough to take someone on their first date and all, and oh my gosh I still can't believe you got the guts to ask a girl out when you can't even talk to them properly! I am so proud of you I just wanna scream and hug you and scream and—Oh! You and Erza should get ready for your date tonight! That's it! I'll call Loke and Gray and they'll fix you right up while I get my good friend Juvia and we'll fix Erza up! Imma goin' to make sure this night is perfect! Bye Natsu!" Lucy shouted as she pulled out her phone and ran away, somehow not panting from all the breath she had been using. Natsu waved back awkwardly, not knowing what had just happened.

"Bye?" he asked but the blonde haired girl had disappeared around the corner already talking on the phone with who he guessed was Juvia. "That was weird…" he mumbled under his breath as he turned and walked back to where he was going to his house.

* * *

Natsu was lying peacefully on his bed only to jerk up in surprise when his bedroom door burst open with Gray and Loke standing in the middle of the door frame.

"Sup, bitches." Loke greeted as he walked on in and straight to Natsu's closet, opening it and looking through the great big mess of clothing and junk. Gray shut the door behind him and set down his bag before he joined Loke at looking through his messy closet.

"What are you bastards doing here?!" Natsu shrieked throwing a pillow at the both of them successfully hitting Loke on the back of the head, the ginger snapping back to glare at him.

"What does it look like? Trying to find something decent for you to wear on your date tonight." he replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world before he turned back to what he was doing. Natsu stood up from his bed, fist clenching by his side in anger. "What do you think about this?" Loke asked holding up a shirt for Gray to see.

"Naw, to plan." The other replied with a shake of his head, Loke throwing the shirt behind him.

"Who the fuck let you guys in?" Natsu growled low under his breath. Gray was about to reply with some kind of retort when Sting had walked on in, shutting the door behind him, and joined Loke and Gray with digging through his closet.

"I did." his adopted brother replied calmly when he held up a shirt that all three of them agreed on, setting it gently to the side as they tried to find other stuff.

"And why would you do that?!" Natsu shrieked, ready to hit his brother and friends. Sting shrugged, as he stood up with the chosen article of clothing in hand, admiring his, Gray, and Loke's pick of clothing before he looked at the pinkette.

"They told me that they were getting you ready with a girl from school. I wanted to join because this is a once in a life time chance. Rogue, Laxus, and Gajeel are going to join us right about now too." And true to his word, their three brothers entered the room with rope and chair in their hands.

"Sup hot head." Laxus said as he, Rogue and Gajeel approached Natsu slowly, the pinkette backing up as a horrible feeling eased up on him.

"U-um… what are you guys doing with a rope and a chair?" he asked them nervously, about to make a run for it before Laxus grabbed ahold of him by the collar of his shirt and forced him down onto the chair while Gajeel proceeded to tie him to it. "O-oy! What do you think you are doing Gajeel?!" Natsu screamed as he tried to struggle out of the ropes keeping him to the chair.

"Don't worry Natsu; it'll all be over soon." Rogue said creepily as he and his other three brothers and two friends towered over Natsu scarily.

"S-someone please h-help me…"

* * *

"All done!" Loke shouted as he slammed open Natsu's bedroom door to where his dad and sister have been waiting outside. Both of them clapped happily when they saw Natsu.

The pinkette had his usual spiky messy hair actually brushed (though they were unable to get the spikes down much to Loke's displeasure) and was dressed in a white T-shirt with a weird cartoon on it, a blue open plaid shirt that had the sleeves rolled up all the way to his elbows with regular jeans and converse.

"Ah! You look so nice Natsu!" Wendy complemented as he crossed his arms.

"I really have no idea why it took an hour just to brush my hair and put this on. And was it really necessary to tie me down to a chair?!" the last part was shouted at Gajeel, Rogue, and Laxus who just smiled in reply.

"No matter! It's time for your date Natsu!" his adopted dad suddenly shouted, surprising everyone as he took ahold of Natsu's wrist and ran all the way downstairs.

"Oy, old man! What do you think you're doing?!" Natsu screamed in surprise as he tried his best not to fall down the stairs, his dad turning to look at him with a big grin.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm driving you to your future wife!" he replied happily, Natsu's face dying red at that.

"W-what?! What makes you think I'm going to marry her?! And I can walk there on my own!" Natsu shouted.

His struggles and protests didn't get him far though since he had been forced into his dad's car as his adopted father drove him to the small restaurant where the date was going to take place. Right as the car was parked Natsu unbuckled his seatbelt as fast as he could and turned to look at his father who looked ready to get out of the car too.

"If you even try to take one step out of the big tin can, I promise you that when you sleep, you'll never be safe." Natsu threatened darkly, his dad gulping in fear as his attempts to get out were stopped. Natsu chuckled evilly as he turned around and made his way to where he knew the restaurant was.

He was slightly happy that Erza hadn't shown up yet which gave him more time to prepare his nerves as he got them a table of two and got a drink for himself and sat there staring at the table. He was jarred out of his thoughts when a familiar voice greeted him.

"Hey, Natsu! Did you have to wait long?" Erza asked as she sat down. Natsu turned red instantly and his nerves went up again even though he had tried his best to prepare for this.

"N-no!" he squeaked. "Y-you look n-nice…" he muttered embarrassedly as he looked down at the glossy wooden table in front of him, his blush going down the longer he didn't look at the red head. True to his words, Erza did look nice thanks to Lucy and Juvia's two hour job on her (though Natsu will never understand why it would take so long just to get dressed). She wore a white summer's dress that stopped a little above her knees with a yellow cardigan that went down a little before her elbows. Her hair was wavy, a white headband in her hair stopping some of her hair from getting into her face and wore little to no makeup (she didn't really need it in Natsu's opinion).

"That's good." she smiled a little in relief as she picked up the menu in front of her, scanning the contents in front of her. "What are you going to get?" she asked curiously, her brown eyes glancing quickly up at Natsu who turned scarlet once more and quickly hid behind his menu.

"U-uh… the-the s-special l-looks n-nice…" he stuttered hopefully loud enough for her to hear.

"It does… um… I'll get that too." Erza decided.

"O-okay…" Natsu hid behind the menu the longest he could until the waiter came over, took their orders and _literally pried it away from him_. Now with no cover to hide behind, Natsu was left in the open and blushing harshly that he was pretty sure Erza thought his skin tone was always red since he never have not blush in front of her.

"So, why don't you tell me about yourself?" Erza asked curiously as she leaned her head in her hands and blinked up at him. Natsu hunched his shoulders and looked at her shyly, his thumbs fiddling nervously in his lap.

"W-what do y-you mean?" he asked, thinking that the others told her all about him once he had left the café a week ago. "I-I th-thought you a-already k-know a-about my l-life." he mumbled, looking off distractedly at the last part. Erza hummed a little and shrugged at this, looking back at him with her kind smile.

"Well, yes, that's true, but I want to hear it more in detail. Like… how was life before your dad left? How was life with you grandfather like? Stuff like that." she explained, taking her hands down from the table and leaning a little bit back in her chair. "I'm just naturally curious." she added after a moment. Natsu sighed, relaxing his shoulders the best he could as he scratched his cheek and tried to think of something he could say without stuttering too much.

"U-uh… w-well it w-was always just m-me and m-my dad up u-until I-I was six s-so don't h-have much memories o-of him and all…" At the mention of his father, Natsu suddenly felt his nerves ease up as a soft smile came over on his features, his stuttering stopping by this small miracle. "I remember right before he left I was standing next to my grandfather on the porch of his house, he lived in the country so there was no one around for miles, just the two of us. I was crying because he had explained he wouldn't see me for a really long time and I didn't want that so he just ruffled my hair and wrapped a white scarf around my neck that had scale patterns on it. I remember him leaning down and looking into my eyes saying: _'The sky can be seen wherever you are in the world, so if you start feeling lonely, look to the sky and think of me, because chances are, I'll be doing the same. As long as the sky is there, we're never truly apart.' _Then he was off and I never saw him again." Natsu explained. There was a short silence between the two as Erza let his words sink in.

"That's sad, but sweet." Erza said quietly. Natsu nodded, still looking down at the table in front of him.

"It was my seventh birthday when they came. I was outside playing around with a horse that Gramps owned while he was inside making my birthday cake. He called me inside and I sat on the couch with Gramps while the two men in uniform sat in front of us, a box in one of their hands. They told us dad died in service and said that this was the few possessions he had with him. When we opened up the box there was a note address to me saying: _'Happy birthday Natsu, I'm sorry I cannot celebrate with you but tonight, go out under the stars and watch the sky and I'll do the same. Don't open your present till then cause then we'll be doing it together!'_ A while later Gramps died from old age and since I had no more living relatives, I was sent into foster care." Natsu looked up, only to feel his nervousness come up again, his face heating up and his shoulders tensing. "W-what a-about y-y-you?" he stuttered nervously, his hands once more twisting nervously in his lap. Erza let out a little laugh making him blush a little more.

"I don't have anything as sad as you; I had a normal life with a normal dad and mom. Nothing really to tell." she told him just as their food arrived.

The rest of the date went well and as they were exiting the restaurant about to go their separate ways when Erza had quickly surprised Natsu and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, smiling and walking down the walkway to her house. Natsu stood there frozen in shock, too shock to even blush or do anything as he blinked at Erza's back as she disappeared in the crowd of people walking on the sidewalk. A whistle jarred him from his shocked as he turned around to see that Loke and Gray were walking towards him, both sporting grins on their faces.

"Man, our little Natsu is already growing up. Went on his first date _and _got his first kiss. Mama is so proud of you!" Loke cried, hugging onto Natsu as he cried dramatically. Natsu flushed scarlet as he became flustered, staring at both of his friends with wide eyes.

"W-w-w-w-what are you guys doing here?!" Natsu squeaked as he pried Loke off of him, the ginger flailing his arms about as he tried to keep on hugging him.

"Oh, us? Yeah, we've been following you for a while. We were even sitting a table in the restaurant watching you and exited before you and have been waiting for you ever since." Gray replied coolly, his smirk annoying Natsu to no end.

"You've been watching me?!" Natsu asked enraged, finally able to shove Loke off of him as he glared at Gray who shrugged nonchalantly at him. "Why?!"

"Your family asked us to. They knew that they would probably blow their cover pretty fast so they wanted us to watch you knowing that we are good at this kind of thing… well that was what Sting had said." he explained. Natsu was so angry at the two of them that he was left speechless, the only thing he was really able to do being stomping pass the raven and ginger, pushing Gray out of the way roughly. Before he left the two behind, he heard them speak to the other.  
"Do you think he'll be mad for long?" Loke asked curiously.

"Naw, he's Natsu. He can't be mad for long; it's not in his nature to be mad." Gray replied.

Oh, they were so wrong. A Natsu's nature can change.

* * *

For two weeks Natsu refused to say one word to Gray and Loke, or even spare a glance in their way. When he was talking to Lucy and they would try to butt in or add their own comment, Natsu would talk casually over them as if he couldn't hear them at all. Lucy would look at Natsu weirdly, eyes glancing in either Gray or Loke's direction (depending on the one who had spoken) wondering what they did to deserve this kind of treatment from Natsu, before she would shake her head and make some kind of excuse to leave so she didn't have to be in the heavily tensioned air, Natsu walking off in the other direction before Loke and Gray could so much as touch him to get him to try and talk to them.

Also in the last two weeks, Natsu had went on two more dates with Erza at the girls request to make him more comfortable so he wouldn't have to ask (much to his relief, he stuttered way too much now in days that it was starting to get on his nerves) and thankfully, each time Natsu was talking to Erza, his stuttering got less and less and so did his nerves and heartbeat, but what comes with good news, there will always be bad news. The longer Natsu spent with Erza, the more his feelings started to develop for her. And he couldn't have that happening since this was just a bet to get more comfortable around girls, money and food! So Natsu decided that he was going to break up with Erza right when the month had ended so he couldn't get too attached to her, he couldn't have it, but little did he know, he was too late for that.

* * *

"Which ride do you wanna go on next?" Erza asked Natsu curiously. It was their third week going out and they were currently on a date at a local amusement park holding hands. They had just gotten off one of the rides and looked around to try and find something else to go on.

"I'm not s-sure." Natsu said, shrugging his shoulders a bit as he looked at a few of the stands they past, watching as people won and loose the games with mild amusement. Suddenly, he felt a tug on his hand making his attention turn to Erza who had started to drag him towards an ice-cream stand where the vendor had just finished handing a little kid his ice-cream cone.

"One strawberry ice-cream, please." Erza said when they came to a stop in front of the small cart, the old man smiling at them before he scooped the cold treat into a smallish cone, handing it to Erza in exchange for Natsu's three dollars.

"Thank you and have a nice day!" the old man cheerfully said, waving them goodbye as the two went to sit on a bench, Erza passing the ice-cream between them happily. Once they were done eating the treat, Natsu had noticed that Erza had gotten a little of it on her cheek.

"You have a little something…" he trailed off, wiping the pink away with his thumb and licking it off in his mouth without noticing what he had done. Erza had turned a little pink in embaressment, her eyes a wide since she was a little surprise by Natsu's bold action. The pink haired male didn't even know what he had done until he had saw the light spreading of pink on Erza's cheeks, his own eyes wide in horror. "I-I'm s-s-s-s-sorry!" he squeaked, turning a bright scarlet and hiding his face in his hands to hide his blush. Erza got over her slight shock and started to giggle, surprising Natsu who looked up a little pass his fingers to see what she was laughing at. She had lent forward on the bench, her arms hugging her middle as she laughed, Natsu looking very confused at her and wondering if something was wrong.

"N-no! I-I'm s-s-sorry!" she said in-between laughs. "Y-you can be-be so f-f-funny at times, y-y-you know?" she had started to calm down, her laughter subsiding as she wiped away a tear at the corner of her eye, looking at Natsu with a bright smile. "And you can be so adorable too with how flustered you can get with the stutter you have around girls and how your face can light up easily. It's so cute." Natsu turned a little angry at that, a pout forming on his lips as he stared a little angry at Erza, crossing his arms over his chest just like a child would.

"I'm manly! I'm not at all cute or adorable!" he muttered stubbornly under his breath causing Erza to laugh a little more at that.

"You're right," she said, getting his attention. "you are manly, you're my man." and with that, she cupped his face with her hands and brought him closer to her until their lips met, surprising Natsu as he turned bright red once more. Erza parted with a smile on her face as she stood up, her arms by her side once more. "It's getting dark, mind taking me home?" she asked.

For the rest of the night, Natsu's mind was on that kiss she had given him. It was different from their first kiss and he didn't know why.

* * *

"Gray! You have to come over now! It's important!" Natsu shouted into the phone urgently, panic on his face.

"_Oh, so now you're talking to me, huh?" _Gray asked in a laid back tone. Natsu shook his head vigorously though he knew he was the only one in his room with the bedroom door closed.

"That's not what's important! I need to talk to you _now_!" the pinkette urged, stomping his foot like a child in the process. A sigh came from the other end of the line along with the shuffling of something in the background.

"_Fine, I'll be there in ten minutes at the latest." _he told him. Natsu felt the slightest bit of relief seep into him, but panic was still overriding him senses.

"I'll be in my room." And with that, they both hung up.

* * *

Eight minutes later, Gray had rolled into Natsu's driveway in his black jeep, hopping out and walking through the front door with his hands in his pocket. Natsu's dad passed him, reading something that Gray didn't bother to look at.

"Oh, hey Gray. Is Natsu having another anime crisis?" Natsu's dad asked calmly as he plopped right down in the living room's sofa. Gray shrugged, not knowing himself.

"Dunno, but if it's about his precious 'Sagi-chan' I'm going to punch him." he replied.

"Alright, have fun." Natsu's dad said with little interest, too engrossed in whatever he was reading. Gray then made his way slowly up the stairs and approached the third door on the right, knowing full well that Natsu was probably behind this door crying about his precious 'Sagi-chan'.

"If this is another emergency about 'Sagi-chan', I'm personally going to investigate your murder myself." Gray sighed opening the door as his narrowed eyes fell onto the slightly younger pink haired male who was clutching a plushy of his favorite anime character of all time that just happened to be 'Sagi-chan'.

"This isn't about Sagi-chan!" he whined as Gray closed the door behind him. "Though in last week's episode Kokro was aiming a gun at her head before it went to 'To Be Continued'!" he cried, falling onto his side on the his wooden floor, his legs still on his little round rug. Gray raised an eyebrow at this, only to slightly shake his head as he sat crossed legged in front of the teary eyed Natsu who had just remembered another problem of his.

"Okay, if this isn't about Sagi-chan, than what is it about?" he asked curiously, actually wanting to know what other problems Natsu seemed to have outside of his anime world. A pitiful look overcame his face as he rolled over on his other side so his back was facing Gray who had now started to grow irritated, another groan coming from him. "What? Are you now some girl at a slumber party with boy trouble?" he snapped, only to make it worse as Natsu let out another louder and longer groan. "Sorry," he mumbled. "Just tell me what it is please?"

"I think I'm falling in love with Erza!" Natsu squeaked as he rolled over to face Gray again, eyes wide and teary as he curled in on him and his large precious Sagi-chan plushy, accidently pressing a button on it, a high pitched squeaky voice shouting "All the stars in the world will be safe and sound thanks to you and I!" from it, both males ignoring the plushy.

"Is that seriously why you are on the ground moaning and groaning like a girl that has just finished watching a soap opera?" Gray asked in slight annoyance. Natsu nodded mutely in responds, a small whimper coming from him. "I'm going home." Gray said, about to stand up before Natsu's hand reached out and gripped the sleeve of his shirt.

"No! Gray! I really need help!" Natsu whined from the floor, giving the raven his best puppy eyes. Gray sighed for what felt like the tenth time that day, sitting back in his previous position on the floor.

"Okay, fine." he grumbled a little under his breath, running a hand through his hair. "What would Sagi-chan do if she was presented with this problem?" Gray asked, feeling quiet stupid for what he was saying. Natsu sniveled a little, looking down at the floor.

"She would laugh and run towards it with a smile on her face…" he mumbled loud enough for Gray to hear.

"Exactly, and that's all you need to do. Love isn't something you run away from; it's something you embrace with all that you got. You don't need no weapons to arm yourself with or armor to protect yourself with, you go in blind." Gray said, standing up with Natsu's dark eyes following him. "Now Sagi-chan would be greatly disappointed in you if you didn't do just that and tried to run away from your feelings, right?" Natsu nodded a little at that, his panic dying down to be replaced by confidence. "Good, cause I have to go to work now. Bye." And with that, Gray left closing his bedroom door after him.

Natsu stayed there hugging Sagi-chan to his chest for a few moments, staring at the closed door, unconsciously pressing on Sagi-chan's button, her voice ringing out in the quiet room, falling on deaf ears.

"There is nothing we can't do when we have the power of love on our side!"

* * *

_Knock knock_

"Hmm? What are you doing here Natsu?" Erza asked as she opened up the door. It was a hot Saturday night leaving the scarlet haired female in just a white T-shirt and jean shorts with her hair tied up in a messy bun. She had not been expecting the pink haired male to appear at her door with his orange hoodie rolled up to his elbows and tan shorts with his hands held behind his back as he looked down at her cobbled stone pathway bashfully, a light shade of pink dusting his cheeks, less than what she normally used to seeing since he would always blush scarlet in front of her or when females other than Lucy talked to him.

"E-Erza!" he squeaked in surprise as if he hadn't expected her to answer the door, the pink on his cheeks darkening just slightly. "C-can you s-spare a few h-hours?" he asked a little hopefully.

"Sure, do you need something?" she asked, feeling a bit worried that something might be wrong with her boyfriend. Natsu shook his head, making her relieved that everything was fine.

"I-it's not that…" he said a little quietly, looking back down at the cobblestone under his feet. "I-I bought you these." he added after a moment's hesitation, thrusting a bouquet of red roses in front of him to a surprised Erza who stared at them with wide eyes. "They r-reminded me o-of your hair." he told her, a small smile forming on his lips.

"They're so lovely Natsu!" Erza said gleefully, taking the bouquet of flowers from him and giving them a sniff as a huge smile spread across her face. Natsu couldn't help but feel a sense of pride flood through him when he saw the big smile on her face and (as cheesy and cliché as it sounds) his heart fluttered a bit. Just a _bit_. Along with the sense of pride, Natsu found a new source of confidence too.

"Come on, we don't have much time!" Natsu said without stuttering, grabbing ahold of Erza's hand before she even got the chance to put on shoes, only managing to close her front door before Natsu pulled her along at a run, an ear splitting grin on his face. Erza stumbled in after him, her bare feet hitting the concrete and creating a rather annoying sensation to her, but she ignored it for now since her curiously was far greater than that.

"Where are we going?" she shouted with a little laugh, finding this situation a little funny. Natsu didn't stop in his running, only turning his head to look at her, his eyes twinkling in the moonlight.

"You'll see!" he replied as he dragged her all the way to the park. He led her off the brick path and onto grass and kept running until they had exited the path and into the small forest that surrounded the town. He had finally let go of her hand as they came to a stop in front of a small field where a picnic blanket was lying down next to a small pond, a stereo on the edge of the red and white checkered blanket.

"What is this place?" Erza asked in little wonderment and breathless after the run Natsu forced her on. Natsu had walked towards the blanket and sat down on it, patting on the space next to him for Erza to come sit, the scarlet haired girl jerking away from her thoughts about the place and joined him in sitting down. As she sat down, he pressed play on the radio where a song she didn't know started to softly play from it.

"Do you like it?" Natsu asked hopefully, turning to her. Erza nodded, a small gleeful laugh escaping her lips as she looked at the pinkette.

"I love it." she said, her voice barely a whisper, though Natsu heard it.

"Good." He leant forwards, this time surprising her with a soft kiss on the lips, his hand lying on top of hers. Erza smiled into the kiss as they pulled apart, staring into Natsu's eyes as she turned her hand over so they were now holding hands.

"Want to tell me where you found this place?" she asked as they both laid down while holding hands. Natsu shrugged, turning his head to the side so he could look at her in the eyes.

"When I was newly adopted, my new dad would bring the six of us down here on a summer's day to have a picnic and do whatever the heck we wanted. Then when the stares came out, we would all lay down on the grass together and stare up at the sky, pointing out the stares we especially liked." he explained. Erza hid her surprise at the first full/long sentence he had ever spoken to her without stuttering.

"It's a beautiful place." she agreed slightly, looking up at the stars as she scooted closer towards Natsu, resting her head on his shoulder. A small smile slipped on their lips as they stared up at the stars in silence with the music softly playing in the background.

"Love you." Natsu said, surprising Erza who had softly jerked her head up so she didn't accidently bump into his chin. She then smiled and looked back up, squeezing his hand in the process.

"Love you too."

_**The End**_


End file.
